


My Funny Valentine

by zeilfanaat



Category: Doc (TV)
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance, Valentine's Day, i2eye Fan Forum Valentine/Winter Challenge 2009, minor crossover with Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-20
Updated: 2009-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-09 16:57:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3257429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeilfanaat/pseuds/zeilfanaat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just when Clint Cassidy is about to ask Nancy Nichol out for dinner, she gets a Valentine card… and it doesn’t stop there. Confusion all around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Yuck, I don’t know what people like about all this red and hearts. The only good thing is the candy that goes with it!” Justin complained, as he and Raul walked through the school hallway, which was decorated with balloons and ribbons. Raul sighed. “Yeah. At least Beverly’s not handing out those questionnaires again.”

“Oh yes! I don’t think I’d be able to fill in another one,” Justin sighed in relief. 

“I don’t even want you to fill out another one!” Raul said with emphasis, causing Justin to shrug. He had quite liked his answers. He waited while Raul pulled his coat out of his locker. “But you know…” Raul said pensively. “The questionnaires Clint and Nancy filled out matched up perfectly… but they’re not together…” He looked at his friend, and added, “Yet.” 

Justin’s eyes started to sparkle. “I feel a plan coming up!”

* * *

There was a knock on the door, and Beverly quickly hurried to open the door. “Hey Donna, Tippy, come on in,” she said, allowing the two women to enter. 

“Nancy said she’d be here in about half an hour. She and doctor Cassidy went to check up on a patient first,” Donna said. “Irene Hart,” Tippy added. “I think she said she had accidentally hit something, and she didn’t think much of it at first until the pain didn’t go away.”

“Didn’t she come to the clinic then?” Beverly asked, as she accepted the coats of the two women, and put them away. 

“She was going to. Actually, she called to make an appointment, but doctor Cassidy said he was finished anyway, and would just drop by.” 

“And Nancy tagged along?” Beverly asked. 

“Uh huh,” Tippy nodded. “Although I think she said she needed to pick something up in the neighbourhood for her father, and this would be easier than taking the subway.” 

“Ok,” Beverly accepted the explanation. “Please sit down… somewhere. I’m sorry for the mess, I’ve been trying to clean up some old piles of papers and such, but Mattie apparently finds all that paper quite interesting too.” She sighed, looking at the various pieces of paper scattered around. She had managed to at least put them on small piles again, but they were still everywhere. Quickly she moved to take a few piles from the couch, to make room for her friends. 

One of the papers slipped from the pile, and Donna picked it up. 

“Thanks,” Beverly said, accepting it back. Then she noticed what it was. “Oh, I’d almost forgotten about these!”

Immediately she handed the paper back to Donna. “Read it, I’ll find the other one. I’m sure it’s in this pile too.” 

Donna and Tippy exchanged a look, then both started reading. “This is the questionnaire you made a while ago, isn’t it?” Donna asked, while reading. 

Beverly nodded, still searching. “Yes.”

“So what does doctor Cassidy’s filled in questionnaire have to do with anything?” Tippy asked. Donna looked up in confusion briefly, then scanned the paper for a name, even turning it around. Beverly looked up at Tippy in surprise. 

“There’s no name on it,” Donna said.

“How did you know?” Beverly asked the receptionist. Tippy looked at them, then pointed at the check marks. “That’s the way doctor Cassidy fills out medical charts. Although,” she said pensively, “I _guess_ it could be someone else’s, but then it would have to be someone who has the same handwriting as doctor Cassidy, _and_ he’d have to have filled in your questionnaire, and that just seems a little unlikely.” 

Donna and Beverly looked at her for a moment, completely baffled. Shaking herself awake, Beverly said, “It is indeed Clint’s.” 

“Ok, so what’s so special about it?” Donna asked, deciding to get to the important part of the conversation. 

“Well, the - Aha! Here it is!” Out of the pile came another filled out questionnaire. “Compare this one with Clint’s,” Beverly said, handing over the second sheet. 

Donna quickly scanned the results, and exclaimed, “They’re a perfect match!!” She turned the paper and saw the name. “Of course, considering it’s Nancy’s, I really shouldn’t be surprised.” 

“If only they did something about it,” Tippy said dreamily. Donna nodded. “They’re perfect for each other. Anyone looking at them can see that they love each other.”

Beverly bit her lip, and smiled. “I think we need to give them a little push…”

Tippy frowned. “Why would we do that? I mean, we could push them against each other, but they’ll just apologise,” Tippy rambled confused. 

“Ah, I think Beverly meant we should help Nancy and Clint realise they’re perfect for each other.”

“Oh. Oh! Ok!!” Tippy exclaimed, catching on. “But how?”

“Well, it _is_ Valentine’s day in two days…” Beverly said with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

“Thanks for the ride, Clint,” Nancy said, getting out of the truck. 

“My pleasure,” the man in question replied with a smile, as he walked around his car, and took the box she was balancing awkwardly. “Here, let me take that.” 

“Thanks,” Nancy said, diving into her purse to find her keys. Together they walked inside. 

“I’m glad Irene didn’t hurt anything too badly.” 

“Yeah, she’s just got to be more careful running into staircases,” Clint agreed. They stopped in front of Nancy’s apartment. As soon as she’d let Clint in, he took three large steps and placed the heavy box on the table with a sigh of relief. “Oof. What’s in this box anyway? Feels like I’m carryin’ a box full of extra heavy horse shoes.” 

Nancy chuckled at the image. “You’re not too far off. They’re old tools. The widow doesn’t use them, and she sold them to my father, since they’re mostly in very good condition.” She opened the box, and looked inside. “Though from the looks of it, my father really got a bargain for this one. He thought at that price he’d only get a few tools, but this looks like she cleaned out half the garage.” 

“Was your Dad comin’ to pick ‘em up, or are you droppin’ ‘em off at your Dad’s store? ‘cause if you are goin’ to drop ‘em off, I’ll take you there tomorrow mornin’. We don’t want you to break your back carryin’ this thing,” he said, tapping on the box. Nancy smiled. “Thanks for the offer, and if you could, could you drop me and the box off there tomorrow on the way to work? My Dad’s car broke down, which is also the reason I was picking this thing up in the first place. He’s still busy fixing it.” 

“Sure, no problem,” Clint nodded, looking at his watch. Noticing his behaviour, Nancy arched an eyebrow. “Got plans for tonight?” 

With a chuckle, Clint looked up to meet Nancy’s questioning gaze. “Apparently Beverly is having some friends over, so Nate and Raul thought it wise to allow them some… ‘quiet’ time together…” 

Nancy laughed. “You mean, they thought it wise to escape?” 

“You got it,” Clint said amused, giving her a wink. For a moment, they stood in companionable silence, just enjoying the company. 

Whenever Clint and she spent time together, Nancy felt her mood go up a notch, and the past hour, riding from the clinic to Irene Hart, picking up the tools for her father, and coming here, was not an exception. Especially over the last few months, she and Clint had grown closer than they’d ever been before. They had a solid friendship, knew they could trust each other with anything, and knew from experience that no matter what, the other would always be there to laugh or to cry with. 

Still, Nancy had caught herself several times wishing that they could have something more than friendship… and she _thought_ Clint wanted that too. Except she wasn’t sure. And her track record with men wasn’t exactly great. She wanted to make sure that she didn’t lose the friendship she had with Clint. Still, over the past months, with preparations for Tippy’s wedding, and especially since Steven had contracted the staph infection and luckily beaten it, she’d noticed Clint had given her more and more attention. It gave her hope that they might be on their way to something more. And now, with Valentine’s day approaching fast, she was hoping that perhaps they’d take that next step… She was very anxious to see if Clint had planned anything for the 14th of February. 

Meanwhile, Clint was somewhat distracted by Nancy’s shining eyes. He knew he loved this woman, and he longed to become something more than just friends and co-workers. She took his breath away, especially when she looked at him like that. She had been a valuable friend throughout the past years, and while it had taken him a while to catch on, he knew without a doubt that Nancy was the one with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Ever since Major Doss had gotten that staph infection which had landed him in the Intensive Care, he had realised that perhaps he should start paying more attention to what was important in his life… one nurse Nancy Nichol in particular. So, they had ended up spending more and more time together. He had been wanting to ask her out for a real date for a while, but hadn’t found the right moment yet… or perhaps he hadn’t gathered the courage yet. Actually, now seemed like a pretty good time… he took a deep breath, and decided to just go for it.

“Nancy?” Clint started softly. 

“Yeah?” Nancy said, blushing lightly as she realised they had been staring at each other. There was something in the tone of his voice though that had her looking up into his tender eyes expectantly. 

“I was wondering if – ” Just then a phone rang, startling both of them. Clint apologised, quickly pulling out the offending item, mentally telling it off for interrupting when he’d just gathered enough courage! It was doctor Hebert’s number. Debating whether to pick up or not, he decided that the moment was shattered anyway, and it could be an emergency. Sending Nancy an apologetic look, which she waved off encouragingly, he picked up. “Doc Cassidy.” 

While Clint was talking to Derek about a patient, Nancy looked down, trying to calm her emotions. She somehow knew Clint had wanted to say something important. Suddenly she saw something on the floor that hadn’t caught her attention earlier. Bending over, she picked it up. It was a red envelope. Her heart skipped a beat, wondering if perhaps Clint had worked something out in advance. Just as she opened the envelope, she heard him apologise. “Sorry about that.” 

He came up behind her, just as she flipped open the heart shaped card. Immediately she realised it wasn’t Clint’s handwriting, and when she checked for a name, she only saw “Your Secret Valentine”. 

Great. She didn’t care for any Secret Valentine; she was interested in the man that was currently in her apartment. She turned around, and came face to face with Clint. Immediately she knew the card hadn’t been his. The disappointed look in his eyes gave him away, even if he tried to cover it up. 

“Well, I ehm, I got to get going,” Clint said, making an attempt to mask his doubts and put on a cheerful front. Perhaps she was seeing someone else. Perhaps that was the reason she was glowing so much lately. 

“Clint!” Nancy urged, “What did you want to say before Derek called?” 

The country doctor felt torn in two. On the one hand he wanted to ask her out, tell her what he had been wanting to say… but on the other hand, did he have any right to interfere in her happiness even if it meant she was with another man? At the moment, he really didn’t know. He needed a few moments to be able to think clearly. “Eh, well… just eh, hope you’ll have a good evening with the girls. If I pick you up at 7.30 tomorrow mornin’, that ok?” 

Disappointment flooded through her at his reply, but she nodded, and hoped she didn’t sound as disappointed as she felt. “Oh, sure, that’s fine. Thanks!” 

Clint nodded, then turned and left to go to his own apartment. Nancy closed the door behind him, then leaned against it with an annoyed sigh. Realising she still held the Valentine card in her hand, she glared at the item. As much as it was flattering to receive a card like that, it really couldn’t have been timed worse! 

Well, for now she’d just have to deal with it. She couldn’t leave the girls waiting for too long, so she threw the card on the table and went to change.


	3. Chapter 3

Seeing Clint’s apartment door close, Raul and Justin appeared from their hiding place in the hallway. 

“Man, that was close,” Justin whispered. Raul nodded. “Yeah. I thought for sure they would see us!” 

“How are we going to get Clint the card now though? If we shove it under his door now, he’ll notice, and he’ll for sure catch us,” Justin asked.

Raul shrugged. “I don’t know yet. But we’ll think of something. At least Nancy has the card!”

* * *

As soon as Clint walked into his apartment, his phone rang. 

“Doc Cassidy,” he replied, not looking at the number. 

“Hey Mate, how’re you doing?” a voice with a familiar accent asked. 

“Wow, hey! Been a long time! How are you?” Clint exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. 

“Just fine, actually, very fine. Hey, reason I called is, I’m kind of ehm, well, in New York with a friend of mine… and was wonderin’ if you knew of any good restaurants?” 

“A ‘friend’, eh?” Clint asked teasingly, though it immediately caused his mind to return to the woman he loved, who had just received a Valentine’s card from someone else.

“Yeah, yeah, ok, girlfriend.” 

Clint chuckled, concentrating on catching up with the man whom he hadn’t seen in years.

* * *

The girls were having a great evening, preparing dinner together, playing with Mattie until it was his bedtime, watching a movie and playing some games. Yet, as much as Nancy enjoyed the evening, her thoughts kept drifting back to a certain man. 

Never had she thought a Valentine’s card could come at such an ill-timed moment! Perhaps she should take things into her own hands. 

It was because of her preoccupation with Clint, that she didn’t notice the looks Tippy, Donna and Beverly kept sending each other.

* * *

“Country, are you ok? This is the second time I beat you at chess!” Nate asked, only half joking. 

“What?” Clint asked, waking up from his daze. Giving himself a mental poke for allowing his thoughts to drift off yet again, he decided he should really pay attention, because if he lost yet another game, Nate would be seriously worried. “Nah, was just thinking.” 

“That’s dangerous indeed. Would stop if I were you,” Nate advised grinning. 

“Right. So you can win easier?” Clint said, watching the other man through narrowed eyes.

“Of course,” Nate replied, winking at Raul, who was watching the exchange with interest, the comic book having lost its attraction. “But if you want to quit now, that’s fine.”

“Oh no, you’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Clint countered, sitting up. Nate smirked satisfied. He didn’t know what had been eating at his friend, but he seemed to at least be able to let it go for a moment. 

Clint for his part had been driving himself crazy thinking there might be another man in Nancy’s life, and welcomed the distraction of the challenge.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Clint and Nancy dropped off the box with tools at her father’s store, and then continued on their way to the clinic. Both were acutely aware of the other, bringing an unfamiliar tension between them which kept Nancy from following through on her promise to herself that she would take matters into her own hands. She’d spent half the night thinking about it, praying about it, knowing she couldn’t go out with another man, whoever it was who had sent her the card, while she knew she was in love with Clint. She didn’t know who the other person was, and she’d have to find a way to meet him and tell him. At the moment though, she had to figure out how to tell the man behind the wheel that she loved him and would like to go out with _him_ … 

When the arrived at the clinic and were getting out of the car, they saw Tippy just entering the clinic. As they entered the clinic, Nancy thanked Clint for the ride. Somehow it broke the tension, and Clint sent her a genuine, warm smile. “’t was no problem at all.” 

His gaze seemed to linger, which made Nancy feel all warm inside. Then Clint remembered the Valentine’s card from the unknown person, and Nancy saw the sadness creep back in his eyes. It was so reminiscent of the previous evening, that she felt the urge to hug him and yell at him at the same time. Didn’t he know that she didn’t care for another man’s interest, only for his? But then she realised, no, how could he? It’s not like she’d told him. Then again, neither had he told her, but… she just knew he’d been close last night. 

After what seemed eternity, but really had only been a few seconds, Clint forced himself to break eye contact with Nancy, and he looked around. “Morning Tippy,” he said, heading towards his office. “Good morning, doctor Cassidy. Good morning, Nancy!” The receptionist said cheerfully, while she put away her coat and purse, unaware of what had just been happening between the two. She’d also been somewhat preoccupied with looking innocent, having just exchanged a wink with Donna DeWitt... Nancy greeted the receptionist absently. Her mind was actively working on more important matters. Like, deciding that she was definitely going to ask Clint out on a date for Valentine’s day… right now! 

Hanging up her coat on the peg, she straightened her back, and told Tippy, “I’ll be right back.” 

“Uh, oh, ok…” Tippy replied taken aback, watching her friend walk in the direction doctor Cassidy had just disappeared.

* * *

Clint walked into his office, and put down his laptop case on the desk, when he noticed a white envelope leaning against the lamp. Usually the mailman wasn’t this early. Curiously he opened it. 

_“Dear Clint,  
Please meet me at 7pm tomorrow at– ”_

Frowning, Clint’s eyes flew over the page, till they saw the not unexpected signature. “Your Secret Valentine,” he mumbled somewhat annoyed. Wonderful, just what he’d been waiting for. Not! What was it with Valentine anyway?! 

Just last night, he’d been pretty certain that Nancy had feelings for him. He’d been about to ask her out, only to find out she’d received a Valentine’s card from someone else. It had seriously shaken him. Not that his feelings for her had changed. Not at all! He just wondered if he’d been wrong once more about a woman’s romantic feelings for him...

* * *

Nancy stopped short, just inside the door opening, upon hearing Clint’s words “Your Secret Valentine”. His back was towards her, but she could see that he was reading something. Her heart dropped. Her first instinct was to turn around, and hide somewhere. Instead, she heard herself say, “Am I interrupting?” 

“Huh?” Clint turned around in surprise. “No, no, you’re not. I just found this on my desk.” He held up the card, which was clearly a Valentine’s card. He watched her face closely. A small hope had flared up when he had heard her voice, but that hope was quickly dashed. It was obvious from her expression that she’d never seen it before. The same thoughts raced through Nancy’s head. 

“Any idea who it is?” Nancy asked, putting on a neutral mask. She’d come to ask Clint out for Valentine’s day, but apparently she was too late. 

“No clue,” Clint sighed, setting the card aside. “Anyway, I’m sorry, you probably didn’t come to speculate about my mail.” Nancy was still lost in thought. What if Clint was going through the same thing she’d been going through last night… or rather, what if she was now in Clint’s position? Ready to take the chance only to be disheartened by a card… Suddenly she realised Clint was looking at her expectantly, and mentally scrambled back. She needed a little time to herself to think. 

“Oh, eh, well, no, but eh, I eh, I just walked by,” she hurried to say. It looked like Clint didn’t buy it, as he looked at her intently, trying to find out what was worrying her. 

“You sure? ‘cause you looked like your mind was miles away.” The worry was evident in his eyes, and she loved him for caring. Ok, she loved him, period. 

“Yeah,” she said, giving him a smile. “I’m sure.”

“Ok…” Clint acquiesced, though it was obvious he wasn’t quite convinced. Nodding awkwardly, Nancy said, “Ok, well eh… see you later.” Then she quickly turned and left the office, leaving behind a contemplating country doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the morning, both Nancy and Clint went about their jobs as usual. Yet whenever they had a moment to themselves, their thoughts were on the person they had admitted – to themselves at least – they loved. Just before the lunch break started, Nancy was sitting around the corner in the filing area checking a file, she heard Tippy say. 

“Well hello Raul! Justin. How are you doing? Oh, if you’re looking for doctor Cassidy, he’s just with a patient now, but I think he’ll be right out.” 

Nancy was about to poke her head around the corner to say hi, when she heard Raul’s answer. “Actually, we’re looking for doctor Hebert…” In surprise, Nancy stayed right where she was. Tippy too was taken aback. “Oh, well, he’s in his office. You know the way, right?” Tippy asked with a smile. “Yes, thank you,” Raul replied, and the two boys walked towards the office of doctor Derek Hebert. A few minutes later, when Nancy was putting the chart away, she saw them come out of the room again, saying goodbye to a nodding and smiling doctor Hebert. 

Somehow this behaviour struck Nancy as somewhat suspicious, but she didn’t get a chance to think about it for long. Tippy was bustling around as usual, when she spotted Nancy. “Oh, Nancy. Wait, don’t move.” The receptionist turned, and plucked a nondescript envelope from the front desk. “I found this, and it was addressed to you.” She handed Nancy the envelope. 

“Who’d be sending me mail here?” Nancy wondered with a frown. Tippy shrugged. “I don’t know.”   
She waited. Nancy raised an eyebrow. “You going to wait for me to open it?” she asked. 

“Uh oh, no, well, you know, I was just curious about it as well, I mean, who would send you a card here at the clinic?” Tippy rambled, trying to not look too eager. 

“How do you know it’s a card?” Nancy asked, becoming really suspicious now. 

“No reason! It, it just felt like a card. I’m sorry, it’s none of my business. I eh…got to go and bring some files to Miss DeWitt.” Immediately she grabbed a stack of files, and hurried to Donna’s office. 

Looking around, the area now being relatively quiet, she decided to take a quick look at the contents of the envelope… which she had to admit, did feel like a card. Just as she opened it, she heard doctor D’s voice. 

“Clint!” 

Nancy looked up to see Clint stand in front of the entrance to the filing area. Derek came from his office’s direction, waving with something. 

“This got in my office somehow, but it has your name on it.” 

Derek handed the younger man an envelope. “Thanks doctor D.”

“No problem,” Derek said, turning back, leaving Clint looking at the envelope with a thoughtful look. It seemed familiar. Too familiar. Meanwhile Nancy had opened her card. 

Realisation hit Clint and Nancy at the same moment, and they looked up to meet each other’s gaze. Clint held up the heart shaped card, which Nancy countered with her card. Wordlessly they arrived at a decision. 

“Hey Nancy, it’s about lunch time. Wanna join me for lunch?” Clint asked, tilting his head a little. 

“My pleasure!” Nancy replied.


	6. Chapter 6

“Ok, so lets see if we can figure this out,” Clint said, as they sat down at the table in the restaurant. 

“I got a Valentine’s card last night from my ‘Secret Valentine’,” Nancy started, holding up one finger. 

“Red, heart shaped,” Clint added, at which Nancy nodded. 

“This morning _you_ got a Valentine’s card from your ‘Secret Valentine’,” she continued, holding up a second finger. 

“And just now you got a similar card to the one I got this morning… before the mail arrived, and Derek just gave me a heart shaped, red card identical to yours,” Clint finished. 

“To me, it definitely looks like we’re being set up,” Nancy said. Clint nodded. “By two people at least. Not entirely sure how Derek would fit in though; unless Nellie was in on it.” He looked a little hesitant while he said this. 

Suddenly a light bulb lit up in Nancy’s head. “Raul and Justin came by the clinic just before lunch.”

Clint looked up in surprise. “I didn’t see them.”

“No, because they asked to see doctor Hebert…” Nancy said with a meaningful look. 

“Ah, I see…” Clint nodded pensively. “So the heart shaped cards are probably from Raul and Justin.” 

“Yeah. And I’m thinking that they shoved mine under my door yesterday but that we were home too early, so they couldn’t do the same with yours or you’d have seen them.” 

“Yes, that makes sense. But the handwriting is definitely not of either of those boys,” Clint said firmly. 

Nancy shrugged. “I guess it’s Beverly’s.”

“No,” Clint shook his head. “I’m pretty sure it’s not Beverly’s. Actually, I suspect that Beverly’s behind the second set of cards.” 

“What makes you say that?” Nancy asked, curious. “The cards were both delivered at the clinic, and Beverly wasn’t even near the clinic. And it doesn’t look like her handwriting on that card either. I was suspecting Tippy. She acted so strangely and she knew the envelope contained a card. Not to mention that she was the one who gave me the card.” 

“I’m not saying Beverly’s alone on this. I just suspect her, ‘cause the restaurant that’s on the second set of cards is a restaurant that Nate took her to a few months ago, and Nate said she really liked it,” Clint explained. 

“Good thinking. Of course it’s possible that someone else who also knows that restaurant is behind this. Or Tippy may know the restaurant. She knows some fine restaurants, having co-owned one herself.” 

Clint gave her a look that told her he had his doubts about those so-called ‘fine restaurants’, but he kept it to himself. Nancy grinned. “Not your taste, Cowboy?” 

“Nope, but no need to tell Tippy that. I unfortunately made that all too clear myself.” He still cringed when he thought back to that day. He was just so fortunate that Tippy had long since forgiven him after he’d apologised. 

Nancy smiled, shaking her head. It was well known that Clint was more a man for mashed potatoes and gravy than for great quality _haute cuisine_. She didn’t mind though. She did occasionally like to eat something peculiar, but that’s not to say it needed to be _haute cuisine_. Mashed potatoes with gravy would do the trick as well. 

“So you agree that Tippy could also be behind this?” Nancy asked, steering the conversation back to its original purpose. 

“Yeah, I do. Just not alone. She left the clinic earlier than we did yesterday, and this morning she wasn’t ahead of us far enough to have been able to go to my office and drop off the card on my desk.” 

“Donna!” Nancy exclaimed, and Clint nodded. “Those three were together last night while we visited Irene, and picked up those tools. Plenty of time to think of something.” Nancy shook her head. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? It was so obvious! Then she remembered, she’d been too busy thinking about Clint to think about who could have sent those cards. “Mystery solved. Both Raul and Justin, and Beverly, Tippy and Donna sent us Secret Valentine cards. You’d almost think they’re trying to tell us something.” Nancy blushed as soon as the words left her mouth. 

Clint’s hand reached out for hers, but she didn’t look up from her plate, which had suddenly become very interesting. “I have no clue why they all decided to try and set us up together _now_ , but they have the worst timing…” Clint said. The softness in his voice caused Nancy to look up, and she was immediately mesmerized by the sincere and tender look his eyes held. “How so?” she asked quietly, as if afraid to break the moment. 

“’cause last night, before doctor D called and you spotted that card, I was about to ask you what I’m going to ask you now instead: Nancy Nichol, would you like to go out on a date with me tomorrow evening?” Clint asked, still holding her hand, yet also holding his breath while waiting for her answer. 

A huge smile spread across Nancy’s face, and she felt her heart flutter with joy. “Yes, I’d love to!” She squeezed his hand, and was delighted to see the joy on his face as well. Without knowing it, they both sent up a small word of thanks to God for having answered their prayers. 

Suddenly Nancy chuckled. “To think how all this could have been prevented if there hadn’t been a group of friends playing match maker.”

A mischievous grin came onto Clint’s face. “You mean you wanted to prevent me asking you out on a date?” 

“No!” Nancy said immediately, only realising he was teasing after she’d thrown out that initial desperate reaction. “No,” she said more quietly. “It would’ve meant you’d asked me out earlier… and it would have prevented all this trouble with cards, and the doubt.” 

Clint nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” 

They sat gazing into each other’s eyes for another few moments, each content to know they were now for certain going out with the other. On a real date. Not just a work related lunch break, but a real date. 

“I think we should give them a little payback,” Nancy said suddenly. Clint looked at the woman across from him, secretly loving the determined look she got in her eyes. A woman with a mission. Oh yes, this could be fun. Slowly an idea started forming in his mind.

“I agree… and I think I might have an idea…” Clint said. Nancy leaned forward, eager to hear it.


	7. Chapter 7

Valentine’s Day

“Do you think it’ll work?” Tippy asked quietly, stealing a glance towards Nancy who brushed by, handing doctor Cassidy a chart. “Patient waiting for you in exam room 2.”

“Thanks, Nancy,” Clint said, accepting the file, and walking off towards the examination room without looking back. 

“I don’t know, it doesn’t look like they’re on to us,” Donna said, equally quiet. “As long as they both show up, it should be fine. We just can’t be certain they’ll show up.” 

Tippy scrunched her nose. “Maybe we can…” 

Alarmed Donna looked up. “Tippy, you’re not going to ask them about it, are you?”

“Well, it would be rather odd for me not to ask. It _is_ Valentine’s Day. If you can’t ask on Valentine’s Day, when can you?” 

To that logic, Donna could only shrug her assent. Tippy turned around, and walked up to the desk where Nancy was searching for a chart. “So, anything special happening tonight?” Tippy asked, standing next to the nurse. Nancy looked up. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s Valentine’s Day today…and you did get a card yesterday… I’m just curious if a certain doctor is taking you on a date today,” Tippy explained, giving Nancy a conspiring look. Nancy sighed. “Ok, you’re right, I did get a Valentine’s card.”

Nancy shrugged. “I’m not sure if I’ll go yet.”

“But you have to go!” Tippy exclaimed. At Nancy’s look, she added, “What if it is someone important.” 

“Well yeah, but then they should’ve just put their name! I’m not just going to go out with some random person.”

Tippy tried desperately to come up with a good reason to make sure Nancy would go. “It’s only for one evening. If you don’t like the person, that’s it,” Tippy said breezily. “And you’ll have a nice evening to boot, what more could you want?” 

Nancy shrugged. “We’ll see. Excuse me, I have to go and bring the next patient to doctor Crane.” Tippy nodded, and gave her an encouraging smile. Well, they’d just have to hope those two would both take the chance of going to a blind date. Why hadn’t they thought of it before that Nancy would have her doubts about meeting someone she didn’t know! And doctor Cassidy… Oh boy, they’d need to get in some extra prayers!!

* * *

“Hey Country, come in!” Nate said as he opened the door. 

“Hey Clint, what brings you here?” Beverly said, as she came from the bedroom. Raul also looked up from playing with Mattie. 

“Hey Nate, Beverly, Raul” the country doctor greeted the couple. “I’m here to take care of the boys.” 

“What?” Beverly said, alarm bells going off. 

“Yeah, I arranged with Clint that he’d take care of Raul and Mattie, so we can go out for dinner,” Nate said, a wide smile on his face as he approached his wife. 

Raul froze, this couldn’t be happening! 

Unbeknownst to him, Beverly too was frantically trying to come up with something without sounding suspicious. 

“That’s so sweet of you,” Beverly said, plastering a smile on her face. “But eh, Clint, I’m sure you have other things to do tonight…” 

Clint shrugged. “Oh, well, I was invited for supper by a ‘Secret Valentine’. But I have no clue who that could be, so I guess it’s just a prank someone’s pulling. Taking care of the boys so you two can have a romantic evenin’ is more important. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Oh, but I was going over to Justin’s place, and I’m sure Mary won’t mind looking after Mattie too,” Raul supplied suddenly. 

“You were?” Nate asked, looking at Beverly, who after shooting Raul a look that was a cross between surprise and relief, just smiled. “Looks like you can go find out who that Secret Valentine is after all, Clint,” she said, hoping this would be enough to get the man to go. 

The man shrugged. “Well, if you’re sure you don’t need me here…”

“No, we’re all set. And you can’t very well just let your Secret Valentine wait, can you?” 

Clint shrugged. “Ok, if you’re all set, then I guess I’ll go and get ready.” 

Beverly nodded encouragingly, and Raul sighed in relief. After Clint left, she turned towards her husband. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because I wanted to surprise you! Don’t you want to go?” Nate asked. Beverly hesitated, but not for long. “Of course I do, it was just a little unexpected.” 

She then turned towards Raul. “Are you sure Justin’s sister won’t mind? Didn’t she have plans herself?”

“I’m sure,” Raul said. “Their parents are going out tonight, and Mary was going to stay home anyway.” 

“Ok, well, in that case I guess I should get dressed in something more appropriate,” Beverly said, a smile on her face as she looked up at her husband lovingly and gave him a kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

“Come on, hurry up! I want to be there to see their faces!” Raul said, as he waited for Justin to catch up with him. They were hurrying towards the cafeteria where they had directed Nancy and Clint to meet up. Without them knowing it was them of course. 

“I’m coming!!” Justin said, struggling to put his arm in the sleeve of his coat, while running towards his friend. “But do we have to run?” 

Raul rolled his eyes, and started running again, this time alongside of his co-conspirator. “Yes, ‘cause it’s almost time, and it’s possible they’re there early! Besides, we need to point them out to the owner, so that he knows that we’re paying for their drinks.” It would set them back a little in their pocket money, but if this worked, it would be well worth the investment. 

As an afterthought Raul asked, “You don’t think Mary minds looking after Mattie, right?”

“No, absolutely …not,” Justin said, in between gasping for oxygen. “Didn’t you …see, she totally… _loves_ your little brother. I… don’t know why …so many people… like …babies. I think …it must be …a girl-thing …or something.”

* * *

“Lets get a cup of coffee before we enter the battlefield for a good venture point,” Major Doss said, as he drew his wife closer. They had just had an early dinner, so that they could get to the play in time. Tippy smiled up at him. “Good idea. We’re still way too early.”

“I know just the place,” Steven said. “Not too far, but a very nice setting. And I heard they serve a good cup of coffee too. I agreed to meet Sam there.” 

“I do hope that Miss DeWitt and Sam Reynolds had a good dinner too,” Tippy said, thinking about her friend and an old friend of Steven. Donna had met him when they had been celebrating Tippy’s birthday, and they had hit it off. They had agreed to go to a play together, but that both couples would have dinner separately before that. 

“I’m sure they have. The few times I have seen them together, they get along perfectly well. I dare say, Sam is really quite taken with her.” 

“Yes, I’m glad they get along so well. After Brian… well, I’m just glad that Miss DeWitt is more cheerful these days,” Tippy mused, tightening her arm around his waist. Looking up, she looked straight into her husband’s loving eyes. 

She had enjoyed scheming the little get together for Nancy and doctor Cassidy, and she liked to think that they would have a wonderful evening together as well, but at the moment, she was just happy to be right where she was: with the man she loved and married. What could be better?

* * *

“Do you see them yet?” Justin asked. They were sitting in a booth, trying to carefully look around to figure out if either Nancy or Clint was there already. 

“No,” Raul said, getting a little worried. “Your sister did write the name of the cafeteria correctly right?”

“Yeah, you even checked it!” Justin said. Raul didn’t reply. He _had_ after all checked it, and there had been nothing wrong as far as he had seen. The door opened, and both Justin and Raul looked up eagerly, but sagged down disappointed, when they saw an unfamiliar woman. 

“Well, she does have blond hair,” Justin said, trying to cheer them up a little. Raul sent him a glare. 

Again the door opened. 

“Hey, it’s Miss DeWitt of the clinic!” Raul said, sitting up. Justin shrugged. “So?” 

Raul shrugged as well. “Just saying.” 

“Who’s she with anyway?” 

Raul looked around. “He looks familiar. Can’t place him though. Doesn’t matter, like you said. If only Clint and Nancy would show up!”

“Yeah. Oh look! There’s Clint!” Justin said, almost bouncing off his chair. Raul pulled him down. “Quiet!! He’s not supposed to see us!” 

The two boys watched the country doctor, excited that their plan seemed to come together. Now all they had to do was wait for Nancy. Suddenly their eyes bulged, as they saw Clint greet the blond-haired woman they’d seen entering earlier, and sit down at her table. 

“Huh?” Justin said, a confused look on his face. Raul just stared. Then he awoke, hearing a familiar voice. 

“Oh my!” 

Shifting in his chair, he turned to see Tippy and Major Doss, staring at the same table he’d been staring at just seconds earlier.

* * *

Donna had been so engrossed in the conversation she was having with Sam, that she hadn’t noticed the arrival of her friends. So when Sam suddenly waved, she was disoriented for a moment. She looked up and with one look had taken in the whole situation. “Uh oh. Something went wrong,” she muttered. Sam looked at her in confusion. “What?”

* * *

“Well, that is a surprise. That’s doctor Cassidy,” Steven said. “I wonder who he’s with.” 

“That’s, that’s my cousin!” Tippy exclaimed. Steven looked confused. “That’s not Twyla.”

“Not Twyla. The cousin I told you about who couldn’t come to our wedding because of her work? That cousin.”

A light bulb went off. “Ah, you mean Tara.”

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

“Nate, where are we going?” Beverly asked, curiosity getting the better of her… again. 

“I told you, it’s a surprise,” Nate said with a knowing grin. Beverly gave in, content to just let her husband lead her to a romantic dinner. They talked, joked, and laughed as they walked, and Beverly wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings.

“We’re here,” Nate said as they approached the entrance. Beverly looked up and immediately recognised the place. An excited feeling bubbled to the surface. This was great! She’d get to see the results of their careful planning firsthand. Oh, she couldn’t wait to see their faces. 

“Oh, Nate, that’s wonderful!” 

“Glad you like it,” Nate said, gladly accepting the kiss his wife bestowed on him. For a moment he forgot everything apart from the woman in his arms. Beverly too lost herself in the kiss. Nothing else mattered in this moment than just the two of them. Then reality came crashing back when they suddenly heard someone cough discreetly. Blushing, Beverly pulled back, and turned to see who had coughed. 

Her jaw fell open when she saw Nancy. That was not the surprising part, since they were at the restaurant that she and the other two women had indicated she’d meet her Secret Valentine. What _was_ surprising was that the man whose hand she was holding was someone she had never met! 

Gasping for breath, she tried to say something that made sense. “Nancy,” came out with a squeak, intensifying her blush. Swallowing, she managed to get her normal voice back. “Hi, who’s this?” 

She hoped she didn’t sound as accusing or desperate as she felt. This was not how it was supposed to go!! How did this happen?! 

“Hi, Nate, Beverly,” Nancy replied, smiling widely. “This is -”

“Bobby Manning, pleased to meet ya,” the tall man introduced himself. Nate caught the shell-shocked expression of his wife, and quickly moved in, shaking hands with the other man. “Nate Jackson, this is my wife Beverly.”

Beverly smiled faintly. 

“Ehm, so eh, are you from Australia?”

While her husband talked to Bobby, Beverly quickly pulled Nancy aside. 

“How… Nancy, there’s something I have to tell you,” she said quietly, looking around desperately, hoping that Clint would be delayed. If only she hadn’t pushed him to go to the secret Valentine’s day after all! She would hate to see his heart broken when he saw Nancy with another man. 

Nancy waited. 

Suddenly they heard the familiar country twang, and Beverly closed her eyes for a brief moment. 

“Hey there, seems y’all are blocking the entrance,” Clint said. 

Beverly turned around to see her sheepish-looking co-conspirators, with, surprisingly her equally sheepish-looking son and his friend. “Wha-?” 

Then she saw Clint standing next to a blond-haired woman she’d never met either. At least she knew Donna was with Steven’s friend Sam. 

“Ok, what is going on?” Beverly finally managed. 

“We got caught,” Tippy said, smiling and blushing at once. 

“Us too,” Justin said, looking disappointed. 

“But how…?” Beverly asked. Nate gave Clint a look. “Country, I think it’s time you explained some things.” 

Clint grinned. “I will, but first I’d like you all to meet Tara Williams and Bobby Manning. Bobby’s a friend of mine I met a coupl’a years ago. Tara is his girlfriend – ”

“And my cousin,” Tippy added quickly. 

“Nice to meet all of you,” Tara said, ducking her head with all the attention. Bobby smiled, thinking of just how cute she looked when she did that. 

While further introductions were made, and Clint continued his explanation, Bobby went to stand next to Tara, taking her hand in his. Gratefully she smiled up at him. When she had accepted his invitation to go to New York with him for two days, she never would have expected to be part of a prank. She loved it, even more because her cousin was involved. Only with Bobby though. She grinned, squeezing his hand, knowing that soon they’d go out for dinner with just the two of them. 

“Ok, so let me get this straight,” Donna said, after Clint had finished. “Raul and Justin decided to get you two together by sending you a Secret Valentine card, while we – Beverly, Tippy and myself – decided on the same thing, the only difference being the location.” 

“Yep,” Nancy nodded. 

“And you guys found out, and decided to play a prank on us by asking Bobby to go to the restaurant with Nancy, and Tara to meet Clint at the restaurant Raul and Justin picked.” 

“Yup, we were lucky that you hadn’t chosen two places on the other side of town. As it is, it’s only a street difference,” Clint said. 

“But… how could you have known that all of us would show up to see if we had succeeded?”

“Well, we kind of needed some help on that one…” Clint said, looking at Steven and Nate, who both nodded and smiled, satisfied that everything had worked out as planned. Beverly raised an eyebrow at her husband. “You knew!” she accused.

Nate gave her a lopsided grin. “Well, yeah.”

Beverly glared indignantly, but the look in her eyes told him she didn’t mean it. Laughing, he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. 

Meanwhile Tippy had let her husband know that she’d have a word with him about this later. Steven wasn’t too worried about that, knowing she wasn’t too ticked off. 

Raul and Justin looked around at all the adults and shrugged. “Oh well, at least we get to keep our pocket money now,” Justin said, causing everyone to laugh. 

“What is going on here?” someone suddenly asked. 

Everyone turned around in surprise, only to see Derek and Nellie. The people who had all been in on it shared looks, then burst out laughing once more.


	10. Chapter 10

Soon everyone went their own way. Tippy and Steven, and Donna and Sam went to the play.   
Derek and Nellie went inside, where they had made reservations. Nate and Beverly joined them, with Raul and Justin. They did make a quick call to Mary to make sure she knew where the boys had gone. 

That left Bobby, Tara, Nancy and Clint. 

“Thanks for helping out,” Clint said to the couple from Washington, D.C. 

“Hey, no problem, Mate,” Bobby said, clapping the doctor on the shoulder. “We have to figure out a time when we can go lassoing again.” 

Clint nodded. “Next time you’re in town perhaps?”

“Deal.”

Nancy and Tara shared a look that each recognised as saying: they’re crazy, but we love them anyway. 

“’t Was great catchin’ up again, but if you don’t mind, I promised a date to the beautiful nurse here,” Clint said, winking at Nancy. Nancy blushed, and said, “Yep, and after all the trouble we all went through to get you to even ask me out, don’t you think you can cancel now!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Clint said, putting his arm around her shoulder. 

“Well, while Nancy here makes sure you don’t back out, I’m going to take this Sheila out for dinner. And you’d better not be calling me for another prank tonight,” Bobby told Clint, only half teasing. 

“Gotcha,” Clint nodded, then looked back at Nancy. Privately Tara thought that another prank was about the furthest thing from Clint’s mind at the moment. They said their goodbyes, promising to keep in touch, and then Bobby and Tara left. 

“Well,” Clint said, as they stood alone together, looking at each other. His arm was still around her shoulders, and Nancy’s arm had wrapped around his waist. “That was an interesting evening.” 

Nancy chuckled. “Yes. Who’d have thought Tara would be Tippy’s cousin!” 

“I certainly didn’t know when I asked Bobby,” Clint said, shaking his head. 

“Oh well, it was really funny, all those surprised faces. Beverly’s eyes almost rolled out when she saw me with Bobby.” 

“And I still can’t believe that neither Beverly nor Raul realised that they were both trying to do the same thing,” Clint added, as they started walking. 

Nancy grinned. “Despite the confusion it caused, it certainly caused a lot of fun though.” 

“You know the only thing I still don’t get?” Clint mused. 

“What’s that?”

“Who wrote the cards. I’m sure it’s not the handwriting of either of the boys, or of Miss DeWitt, Tippy or Beverly.” 

“Hmmm…” Nancy frowned. “I don’t know either.”

“Oh well, got to let them keep some secrets,” Clint said. “Lets not ruin the rest of the evening trying to figure _that_ out.” 

Nancy agreed, and they set off for dinner. They continued talking and laughing throughout the rest of the evening, often holding hands. Near the end of the evening, Clint asked Nancy to dance. As they danced, they continued talking. Within no time, their eyes locked, and nothing but the music and the other existed. At one point Nancy threw her head back, laughing at something Clint said. Her eyes sparkled, and Clint couldn’t think of anyone looking more beautiful than Nancy did that moment. His heart overflowed with love, and when she gazed at him, completely at ease and right where she wanted to be, he knew this was the moment. 

“Nancy…”

She waited. 

“I love you,” Clint said tenderly. Nancy felt her heart would burst with joy. 

“I love you too,” she said, making sure he knew she was sincere. They searched each other’s eyes, and found everything they needed that moment. Acceptance, friendship, support, faith, and love. They communicated without words. The kiss was tender, and more than either of them could have imagined. When they opened their eyes again, they smiled at each other. Nancy put her head against his shoulder, and Clint leaned his head against hers. Both content and secure, knowing that God had brought them together.

* * *

A few feet away, a couple sat at a table, eating dessert. The woman saw the country doctor and the nurse, gently swaying to the music, in their hearts one. She made a mental note to tell Mary that it seemed as though the cards they had written may not have brought the recipients to the indicated places, but they had apparently brought them together. 

**THE END**


End file.
